


angel wings

by jennshiki



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Fluff, M/M, they are "birds", they have wings, winged au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-19
Updated: 2017-02-21
Packaged: 2018-09-25 13:04:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9821726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jennshiki/pseuds/jennshiki
Summary: The person, the boy who had grabbed him, sat up, and Keith watched as the boy folded up his wings behind him. He had tanned skin, chocolate brown hair, and bright blue eyes that stood out a lot. But what was most extraordinary, was his wings. They were probably bigger than Keith himself, and they looked whiter than snow. The boy almost looked like an angel.-WINGED AU-





	1. Chapter 1

The rain pounded down hard, and Keith could feel the cold water soaking into his feathers. The wind screamed and clawed at him as he flew, raindrops pummeling his face. He could feel his wings growing heavier and heavier as the water soaked in, and the strain in his muscles told him that it would be too dangerous to keep fighting the weather.

He scanned the ground, looking quickly for a place to land. For shelter. He sighed when he realized that he was flying over plains. It was just flat lands and hills for miles, with not a single tree or even a bush in sight. Just his luck. 

He hadn’t been paying attention; he was just flying for the sake of flying, because there was nothing else for him to do. If he’d been with someone else, they might’ve warned him about the storm clouds, and told him to turn back. But there was no one with him. He was alone. 

And for as long as he could remember, Keith had always been alone. He had never had anyone by his side to guide him, to help him, or even just to keep him company. He was always all by himself. 

Keith swept over the area with his eyes one last time to make sure that he hadn’t missed anything, and then decided just to land on the grass. He straightened out his wings and began to dive, trying to glide down to the ground. In normal circumstances, he would’ve been perfectly balanced, and would’ve been completely able to control his speed and land successfully. However, the wind, the cold, and the rain were affecting his ability to fly, and he found himself losing balance, panic striking his heart as gravity yanked at him, pulling him down a few feet before he managed to fight against it, flapping his wings as fast as possible. 

His breath came in pants and he could hear his heartbeat in his ears pounding like it was raining boulders in his head. Trying to land safely on flat ground while the wind pushed and pulled at him was going to be challenging. If he landed the wrong way, he risked hurting himself, or his wings. If his wings got injured, he’d be stranded. To a Bird, losing their wings was like losing their life. 

Keith could feel his back muscles beginning to ache, begging for rest. He couldn’t keep flying, but how was he going to land?  
All of a sudden, white flashed at the corner of his eyes as if his prayers had been answered, and he turned just in time to see someone flying towards him, faster than anyone he’d ever seen before. More out of control than anyone he’d ever seen before. 

He didn’t even have time to react before the stranger grabbed his arm and began to pull him along. He was about to protest, when a huge shadow fell over him, and he looked up to see a pair of giant wings flapping right above his own.

The sight was breathtaking. He was mesmerized for a few seconds, unable to look away, until his fingers grazed grass, telling him that they were about to land.

Keith snapped his eyes back down to see the ground rushing towards him so fast, and he really thought he was going to die, until the person grabbing his arm gave him a sharp tug and Keith’s feet were yanked forward to meet the ground before he could crash. He stumbled forwards, and then fell into and onto something. Someone. 

There was a yelp and then the two of them fell onto the ground, a flurry of white rushing by as the other person’s wings immediately rose up, so that their wings wouldn’t be crushed. 

“Gee, you’re heavy,” groaned a voice.

Keith immediately jumped back into the air, his wings struggling to keep him balanced as he staggered backwards.

The person, the boy who had grabbed him, sat up, and Keith watched as the boy folded up his wings behind him. He had tanned skin, chocolate brown hair, and bright blue eyes that stood out a lot. But what was most extraordinary, was his wings. They were probably bigger than Keith himself, and they looked whiter than snow. The boy almost looked like an angel. 

“What, like what you see?” said the boy, breaking the silence that Keith hadn’t noticed was there. 

He blinked for a few seconds, his brain processing the words, and then shrugged.

“Well, yeah. You’re really pretty.”

He must’ve said something wrong, because the boy’s face turned a bright shade of red. Keith immediately went back over his words. What was wrong with what he said? It was the truth. Then again, Keith hadn’t had much experience with talking to other people, so he couldn’t really make a fair judgement. 

“H-huh?” stuttered the boy, those blue eyes blinking rapidly. 

“Uh, sorry, did I say something wrong?” asked Keith, concerned. 

The expression on Lance’s face went from disbelief, to suspicion, and then to confusion. 

“N-no, it’s just, that was uh, kind of direct,” he stammered. 

“Really?” replied Keith, genuinely not understanding how the truth was ‘direct.’

“Uh, yeah. It’s fine, it doesn’t matter though. Anyways, the name’s Lance. What’s yours?” 

“It’s Keith. Also, why did you pull me down out of the sky?”

Lance shrugged, and said, “You looked like you were having trouble landing, so I thought I’d help a fellow bird out.” He flashed Keith a grin.

The smile was contagious and Keith felt the corners of his mouth twitching upwards. 

“Oh, well thanks.” 

“Of course! Hey, you know, I’d love to stay here and talk some more, but we should probably find cover.”

Ah, right. Keith had somehow managed to forget about the storm, despite the claps of thunder, the rain pouring down on him, the heaviness of his wet wings, the black hair hair clinging to his face, and the clothes sticking tightly to his skin. 

“Right. But where do we go? There aren’t any trees anywhere.”

“Who needs trees when you have a hole? Come on, follow me.” 

Lance pushed himself upwards and began to run. Keith folded up his wings and chased after him, grimacing as his feet squished and sank into mud as they hit the ground. They ran for only about a minute before coming to a stop, but the both of them were breathless, and Keith’s legs were burning. Birds didn’t walk that much, and they definitely didn’t run, so their legs were much weaker compared to other animals. Running was torture. 

“I..don’t…see any…shelter,” gasped Keith as he struggled to catch his breath. 

“It’s…right..there,” wheezed Lance in reply.

Keith watched as Lance forced his legs to take a few more steps toward a hill in front of them. Keith sighed, and followed. As they got closer, Keith noticed a small hole in the side of the hill. 

“That?” asked Keith, not bothering to hide the distaste in his voice.

Lance shook his head. “Don’t worry, it’s bigger on the inside.” 

Keith watched, unconvinced, as Lance began to squeeze himself into the opening. His large wings were flattened against his body, and they reached all the way to his ankles. How he managed to fit in, Keith had no idea, but after what seemed like forever, Lance’s feet finally disappeared into the hole, and his head popped back out. 

“You’re turn!” he said enthusiastically. 

-

The storm rumbled outside, sounding like it had no intention of letting up anytime soon. After much effort, a lot of wiggling, and a lot of pulling, Keith had finally squeezed into the hole. And it _was_ bigger on the inside, so fortunately, Keith didn’t have to wait out the storm with his body pressed up against Lance’s. 

“So, what are you doing here?” asked Keith curiously. 

Maybe Lance was a loner like him. Maybe Keith had finally met someone that would understand him. 

“Oh, I was fooling around, and when the storm started, I got separated from my flock. This happens all the time though, so they’re probably waiting for me somewhere not too far from here,” explained Lance, chuckling.

Keith’s heart sank. Of course Lance had a flock. Why did he think that he would be like him? 

“What about you? How did you end up here?” questioned Lance. 

“Oh, uh,” started Keith, considering his answer. He was pretty sure it was unusual to not have a flock. He didn’t want Lance to be weirded out. “I was just flying, and, uh, hey also your wings are really big!” He hoped his attempt at changing the subject wasn’t too painfully obvious. 

If Lance noticed his intentions, he didn’t show it. Instead, he flushed with pride and stretched out his wings, which just barely fit in the small space. Even with dripping wet feathers ruffled up and clinging to each other, they still looked so majestic. Lance really did look like an angel. 

“Yeah, I know, and my flock’s medic said that they’re still going to grow bigger! I can already fly faster and higher than everyone else in my flock, so imagine me with even bigger wings,” bragged Lance. “And I’m only 13 years old.”

Normally, Keith would’ve been annoyed at someone showing off, but for some reason, he didn’t really mind. 

“Hey, but you’re wings are pretty big too,” continued Lance, leaning over, closing the space in between them. Keith pulled back in surprise, finding their closeness slightly unnerving, yet not uncomfortable. He flinched as Lance’s fingers gently pulled at his wings. No one had ever touched his wings before. Was this kind of thing normal?

Lance leaned even closer, which Keith thought would’ve been impossible, and his eyes widened as he peered at Keith’s wings.

“Wow, your wings are so black! I can barely see each separate feather. That’s so cool,” gushed Lance. 

Keith felt his face heating up, unused to receiving compliments. 

“Er, thanks. Your wings are still bigger though, even though we’re the same age. And you’re wings are so much prettier. They’re white, just like angel wings!” said Keith, trying to move the conversation away from himself. 

“Pfft, I’m far from being an angel,” laughed Lance. 

His laughter echoed through the small burrow that they were in, and it reminded Keith of bells. It was oddly soothing, yet Keith could feel his heartbeat speeding up as if he was still running, and he had no idea why. 

They chatted more for a long while, and Keith treasured every moment of it, desperately wishing that it’d never end. Lance was so nice, and so fun to be around. Keith had never thought simply talking could make him feel so happy, and he loved watching Lance smile, taking note of how the edges of his eyes crinkled slightly every time he giggled. 

But all good things come to an end, and Keith knew that his time with Lance was up when he heard a voice outside.

“Lance!” 

Lance scrambled past Keith to peek out the hole.

“That’s my friend Hunk! Looks like the storm has passed. I didn’t even notice,” he exclaimed happily. 

Keith held back a sigh. Lance was going to leave and forget him, and he’d be alone once again. 

“Well, it was nice meeting you. Bye,” Keith forced out.

Lance turned back around to give Keith a smile.

“Maybe we’ll see each other again! You better not forget me,” he teased.

Keith smiled sadly, because he knew that the chances that they would meet again were really low. “I won’t. And the same to you. Don’t forget about me.”

“Ha, please. I have great memory. But heck, here take this.”

Lance reached a hand up to his neck and pulled off a necklace. It was a brown string with a small blue stone hanging from it, the same color as Lance’s eyes. He held it out, and when Keith didn’t react, he took Keith’s hand and pressed the necklace into his palm. 

“To remember me by. Don’t worry, I have a ton of these necklaces back home. But maybe if we meet again, we can recognize each other by it.” 

Keith was touched. Lance really did want to see him again.

“Thank you,” he whispered. “But I think I’ll be able to recognize you fine by your wings. I’ll probably be shocked at the size of them the next time we see each other.” _If we see each other._

Lance beamed, and then leaned in. Keith had no idea what Lance was doing until he felt two arms and those large wings wrapping around him and pulling him into a hug. Keith had never been hugged before, but before he could hug Lance back, they broke apart. 

“I should get going now. Don’t want to worry my friends. See you!”

And with that, Lance turned and crawled out the hole. Keith crawled up to the opening to watch as Lance took off, huge wings flapping, blowing back the grass around him as he flew up into the air to meet his friend. 

Keith looked down into his palm, at the necklace. He bent his head and slipped it on, feeling the weight of the rock as it slid down the string to reach his collarbone. He ran his fingers over the smooth surface. This necklace was a gift from the only friend he’d ever had. Keith swore he’d never take it off. 

-

FOUR YEARS LATER:

Keith hurried through the market place. It was crowded, and he hated being around so many people. 

In his bag, he had a week’s worth of food, which he’d traded his shoes for. He was a Bird afterall, so he figured that he could go without shoes. 

Keith didn’t have much, and it was hard to get by, especially being on his own. Usually he could scavenge his own food, but it was winter and everything was covered by a blanket of snow. All was either frozen, asleep, or dead, so the only thing he could do was trade for food. 

He was starving, but his shoes were the only thing he could afford to lose. He needed the clothes on his back to survive the cold, needed all the feathers in his wings, needed his dagger for protection, and he needed the blue necklace that he hadn’t taken off in four years. 

He was weaving through the crowd of people, successfully managing to not bump into anyone, until someone ran into him. He was startled by the impact, and since his wings were hidden under his long brown jacket, he couldn’t use them to maintain his balance and ended up falling to the ground. He could hear his food being crushed. 

“Hey, watch where you’re going,” he growled. He was not in the mood for this. 

“Dang, I’m sorry! I was just in a hurry, I wasn’t looking, I’m really sorry!”

The voice was oddly familiar. His head snapped upwards, and a pair of blue eyes met his own. He held his breath.

“Lance?” 

The boy’s eyes widened, and a horrified look appeared on his face.

“Uh, sorry, do I know you?” he stammered. 

Keith’s anger shattered, and the shards started raining down on him. His rage became pain. Did he get the wrong person? No, though he had definitely changed, this was Lance, and he was even wearing a blue stone necklace. Had he really forgotten him?

“It’s me, Keith!” 

He thought he saw recognition pass in Lance’s eyes, but his words spoke differently. “I’m sorry, I think you’ve mistaken me for someone  
else.” 

With that, Lance hurried past Keith. But Keith wasn’t about to give up that easily. He jumped to his feet and raced after him.

“Lance! Stop!”

He didn’t stop, and so Keith picked up his pace, reaching out with his arm to grab his shoulder. What he got instead was Lance’s jacket, and when he tried to pull at Lance, the jacket came off. That got Lance to stop. But Keith barely noticed, because he was too focused on something else. Everything seemed to melt away as the jacket fell to the floor, and Keith laid his eyes on Lance’s back. On his wings. And he was shocked alright.

Because those snow white feathers were stained with a deep red, and those big, big wings of his? They were gone.


	2. still

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> they run away

His wings were gone. Lance’s giant, pure white, soft, fluffy, feathery wings, were _gone_. He couldn’t believe it. 

It looked like they’d been broken off, or even cut off, and all that was left was a few feathers clinging to mangled bone. It was horrifying to look at, and the fact that Keith knew what they had looked like before, how beautiful they were before, only made it worse. 

They say that a Bird can die twice, because losing your wings was like being killed. It wasn’t that uncommon for a Bird to damage their wings, but for one to lose them completely was unheard of. And despite that, you wouldn’t see a flightless bird walking around, because most birds who lost their flying capabilities killed themselves. It was that devastating. And for Lance to still be walking around… Keith couldn’t even imagine what he must be going through. 

“Lance,” whispered Keith. 

He could see shame clouding over those blue eyes, and then Lance ducked his head, brown bangs sweeping over and hiding them from sight as he crouched down to retrieve his jacket.

“I guess this wasn’t really the reunion either of us expected, eh?” said Lance quietly, offering a weak smile as he stood back up, flinging on the dull green jacket to cover what was left of his wings. “Not much of an angel anymore, am I?” 

Then his eyes glazed over, and when Keith caught the shine of tears in the rim of Lance’s eyes, he swore he could feel, could _hear_ his heart breaking. It was a sharp crack, like his heartstrings were snapping, like his world was shattering.

Four years ago, when Keith said goodbye to Lance, he thought he’d never see that snarky grin or that sincere smile ever again. And now that they were reunited, that same thought remained. 

Keith found his feet taking a step forward, and then another, and then he broke into a sprint, racing towards Lance, legs moving on their own. He had no idea what he was doing when he grabbed Lance’s hand, and still had no idea when he began to move. It all happened in a blur, a rush of feelings, and before he knew what was happening, they were running.

All he knew was that he needed to get out of here, from the crowd, the stares, the noise, the people. From the world. Lance needed him. He needed Lance. He needed Lance to need him. He needed to find shelter. 

And so they fled the marketplace, hand in hand. Keith kept a firm grip on Lance, refusing to let go. There was a yelp of surprise as Keith yanked on his arm, but still Lance followed obediently as the two of them ran, feet pounding against the stone ground over and over rhythmically, as if the ground was a drum.

Sharp pain shooting through his feet reminded him that maybe he did need his shoes after all, but he didn’t stop, wouldn’t stop. His lungs burned, and his legs burned even more, but still, he didn’t stop. 

When he felt his arm go slack, Keith turned in surprise to see Lance pushing forward to run beside Keith. He looked over at Keith with wide eyes, confused and knowing, all at the same time. He wasn’t smiling, and in fact he looked almost scared, but there was just a trace of something familiar resurfacing. And that was all it took.

With the wind pushing against them almost like rain, nostalgia crashed upon Keith, and he wanted to scream. He wanted to cry, and he wanted to laugh. Adrenaline and energy pulsed through his veins, and he began to run faster. His wings tingled, begging to be let out. They wanted to breathe, and they wanted to _fly_. But that was quickly forgotten when Lance sped up as well to match his pace, and then it became a race. 

Their feet beat against the stone, then the dirt, then the grass, as they tried to outrun each other, not stopping and not letting go of each other’s hand. Keith thought they could run forever, but eventually, his legs refused to take him any further and they gave in, letting him collapse onto grass in a big heap. His chest heaved as he gasped, heart ticking like a bomb, lungs demanding more air than he could physically take in. He heard Lance falling down beside him, the sound muffled by the roaring sound of his heart beating very audibly in his   
ears.

Then the two of them lied there for a while, listening to each other struggling to catch their breaths, to the sun going away for the day, to the crickets chirping. And when Keith finally felt his heart slow to a relatively normal pace, he turned his head to look at Lance. And wow. The guy had fallen asleep. 

Keith found himself smiling as he studied the other boy’s sleeping face. It was surprisingly peaceful as he dozed, mouth slightly open as he lied there.

With his eyes closed, Keith noticed Lance’s long eyelashes, usually made unnoticeable by his bright, attention-grabbing eyes. He was still just as pretty as Keith remembered, and most of his physical features still remained the same. However, he could see faint shadows under his eyes that definitely weren’t there before, and of course, the wings. 

At some point while they were running, or maybe after they had fallen to the ground, Lance had taken off his jacket, and now it lied in a wrinkled heap beside his long, curled-up legs. That meant that his wings were right out in the open, and very visible. 

Keith didn’t want to look, but he felt his eyes being drawn to them anyways, and his heart leapt up to his throat when the image of the wings entered his mind once again. 

Keith didn’t want to see the destroyed mess that wasn’t even a ghost of the breathtaking sight that they once were. He wanted to remember happy Lance, the one who smiled and laughed easily, who was so proud of his huge, beautiful wings, of how fast and how high he could fly. The Lance that was in front of him now couldn’t fly at all, and the magnitude of just how much Lance had lost was nearly enough to bring Keith to tears.

The more Keith stared at those broken wings, the harder it became for him to remember what they once were, and that made him feel so unbelievably sad. He felt so bad for Lance. Keith unconsciously reached back to feel his own wings, feeling the soft feathers just to make sure they were still there. He knew they were there. Why wouldn't they be? But he'd never expected for Lance of all people to lose his particular wings. Why did he lose them? What did he do to deserve such a thing?

Lance’s wings had been so big. What thing could be so strong that it would break off a pair of wings that were bigger than Keith himself? Four years was a heck of a long time, and Keith desperately wanted to know what had happened to Lance in those years. How did his wings become like this? Where was his flock? He didn’t know the answers to any of the many questions bouncing around in his head, but what he did know, was that he needed to help Lance. He needed to help the only friend he had. 

-

Lance heard Keith shuffle beside him, and he immediately shut his eyes, pretending to be asleep. He steadied his breathing, trying to make his act more believable. He wanted to put off their inevitable confrontation for as long as possible.

Keith must’ve fallen for it because he said nothing. But though his eyes were closed, Lance could practically feel Keith’s hard gaze as his eyes swept over him. He knew that he must be staring at his wings. 

Lance kept his eyes shut and tried to stay as still as possible. If he was awake, then he'd have to talk. And if they were going to talk, then Keith would definitely ask about his wings. And he just wasn’t ready to talk about what had happened. How could he, when he was still in denial? How could he explain how he had lost his wings, when he still couldn’t believe that they were gone? 

Every day when he woke up, he’d stretch out his arms and wings, preparing to fly, only to be reminded by the sharp sting in his back that his wings were gone. He’d never fly again. 

Sometimes when it was cold, he’d instinctively try to wrap his wings around him, only to find nothing there, because they were gone. They used to be so warm, so comforting. He could hide in them and close off from the rest of the world, just hiding in the shadows of his large wings. He could relax and unwind, and just forget about everything. In his wings, he'd be in his own little world. But they'd been stripped away from him. His world had been stripped from him.

Lance's wings were the one thing that he could be proud of. Now he had nothing.

Lance felt his heart twist sharply at that thought, and he had to bite his tongue to keep in a sob. His flock, his _friends_ …..ah, Lance was such a coward. Instead of staying back to help his friends fight against _them_ , in a flurry of impulse and selfishness, he ran away. Because he was scared. He was so, so naive, and so stupid. Lance hated himself.

Then a sudden voice broke the silence, the words wriggling into his ears and causing his thoughts to disperse.

“He still looks like an angel though.”

And then Lance started to cry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> honestly i have no idea where i'm going with this story,, i have absolutely no plot mapped out, i'm just writing and seeing what happens lMAO
> 
> i just really wanted to do a winged au, and also mainly because i drew something w keith in a winged au and i wanted to write a fic abt it
> 
> I'd love to hear what you think !!

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't have the time to revise this, but yeah hope it's okay ! i'd love to hear what you think!!
> 
> obviously it's not finished, there's going to be a chapter 2, i just wanted to get this part posted


End file.
